In an article for Law360, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Thad McBride examined recent updates related to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The UFLPA bans U.S. companies from importing “goods, wares, articles or merchandise” that were produced using forced labor.
As referenced in the article, “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security [DHS] has primary responsibility to administer the UFLPA. A key tool DHS uses to identify parties potentially involved in forced labor is the UFLPA Entity List. Parties named on the Entity List are subject to the act’s rebuttable presumption, and thus no product produced by a named party may be imported into the U.S. unless the presumption is overcome. DHS has also made clear that the Entity List is not exhaustive. Indeed, DHS continues to update the list regularly. The Entity List has more than doubled since the beginning of 2023; DHS asserts this increase ‘reflect[s] [its] strong commitment to increase enforcement.’”
To comply with the UFLPA, Thad outlines the following three primary steps that importers need to take:
- Check transaction partners in import and supply transactions against the Entity List.
- Obtain compliance certifications from transaction partners.
- Conduct due diligence including supply chain auditing.
As Thad reminds importers, “Companies need to monitor enforcement and recognize that suppliers in and around China, especially, are modifying their operations to avoid UFLPA prohibitions. Therefore, companies must also develop and implement compliance best practices. Otherwise, costly import delays will be the likely result.”
The full article, “How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies,” was published by Law360 on June 21 and is available online.